Robot wheelchairs turn heads at Sea-Tac Airport

By the numbers: More than 1,500 people have used the self-driving wheelchairs at Sea-Tac since mid-August, when Alaska Airlines began testing 10 as part of a pilot program, the airline told Axios this week.

Zoom in: You'll find the self-driving electric wheelchairs in the C and D concourses at Sea-Tac.

• Travelers operate them by selecting their destination on a touch screen, Alaska wrote in an emailed statement to Axios.
• They're developed by WHILL, a company specialized in electric mobility devices, the airline said.
• The wheelchairs are called to help specific passengers once they get through security, meaning random passengers can't just hop on. (You'll typically see a sign on them that says "reserved.")

What they're saying: "The devices provide riders with more freedom, confidence and an improved customer experience," Alaska Airlines spokesperson Ray Lane wrote in an email to Axios.

Zoom out: Other airports, including in Amsterdam, Winnipeg and Miami, are also using the technology.

Our thought bubble: Generally, the wheelchairs seemed to work fairly well when we saw them during two trips through Sea-Tac airport this month.

• But we did spot one that got tripped up by a large column in Concourse C.
• It stopped in front of the column and repeatedly said, "Please step aside," despite no human blocking its way.